Be Safe! How many times have you used these words as someone left your home or office? Yet being safe may be a sure prescription to a stagnant life of boredom. There is no way to move forward in life, no way to love passionately, no way to be all that you can be and still be safe. What is one to do?
Staying in bed is safe. The minute you get up you risk one of those household incidents that dominate the world of accidents. Loving someone may be the most dangerous activity a soul can experience. Curiosity and experimentation will almost certainly lead to unsafe situations. Yet…
- Edison didn’t play it safe.
- Our greatest presidents didn’t play it safe.
- The people who settled this great country didn’t play it safe.
- The men and women who protect this country do not play it safe.
- Henry Ford and John Rockefeller did not play it safe.
- Jesus didn’t play it safe.
Don’t live safely, live courageously.
Unfortunately we live in a culture that places great emphasis on avoiding risk. We sacrifice many of our freedoms to be “safe.”
The geek (pun intended) word for this safe kind of thinking is “mortem.” Death! It is the root word of other inspiring words like “post mortem” and “morgue.” Life without risk is a taste of death.
What did he die from doctor?
Safety!
The older we get the more tempting it is to withdraw to safety and lose a grip on life. Might I suggest an alternative of calculated risks? None of them are safe but they are the essence of life.
Risk something you cannot keep to gain something you cannot lose.
Stand for what you know is right, no matter what people think of you.
Befriend someone without expectation of gratitude.
Try something you have never tried before.
Create a conversation with someone who believes totally different than you.
Invest in people; the return is much better than the stock market.
Find a way to press your physical limits.
Ask God to open your eyes to opportunity and act on it.
Say I’m sorry to someone you have wronged.
Forgive someone who has wronged you.
Go out of your way to make new friends.
These are the kind of risks full life is made of. Choose a couple. Risk something! Risk it all if you must. Live!
[reminder]What do YOU think?[/reminder]“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
C.S. Lewis – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Comments
So good, Ken. Thanks.
Thoroughly enjoyed this Ken! Taking risks reveals so much about your true self!
Thanks Ken, we just need to do it .Sometimes it is hard for me.
I get this. However, it seems reckless to do somethings. The book (I think it is called “Wild at Heart”) tells of a man taking his children out in canoes in a flood. Now to me, that is stupidity and he should have been punished for that!!! My word, the things that could have happened to those children had they hit debris or capsized or something. I can not read any of his other books because I have no respect for someone like that. How do we balance risk and living with common sense? Maybe I am wrong here and I know I play it tooo safe, but I really don’t know where you draw the line.
Good stuff!! needed this! thanks Ken!
Thanks Ken! I really enjoyed this but I always have enjoyed listening to you!
This is the 2nd time today that God has given me the message to not live in fear but to live with courage. Geez… beat me over the head with it God!! lol 🙂
Ken, I love this message. We’re so concerned with safety and comfort that we often miss out on life. Safety is over-rated.
God’s Word tells us “Fear Not, for I AM with you, always”.
For many years now, I often pray, “Okay God, my answer to you is ‘Yes’, now what’s the question?”
He has amazed me every time. I sure don’t don’t want to miss out on His blessings, just because I played it safe.
Thank you Ken. Blessings to you!
Benjamin Franklin said it well when he said “Any society that would give up a little freedom to gain a little security will deserve neither & loose both.”